Sweetness of the Heart
by MissGiqqles
Summary: AU Highschool. For as long as Santana could remember, Dani has always attempted to ruin her life so she has every reason to do the same. Dani remembers differently, she's positive she did nothing wrong to deserve the treatment Santana makes her endure every single day of her life. But there are always two-sides to a story. The rating might change(not sure yet)
1. Chapter 1

**So like I'm pretty new at posting on this site but I'm not the new to writing. I've seen many bullying stories and I decided that I wanted to do my own and trust me it's not the same "secret crush that's why I bully" or "abusive background" story. It still is a Dani/Santana story (Because they're so amazing) but it's just going to have a twist with development. But ya tell me what you think :)**

**Disclaimer****: **_I sadly do not own any of the characters in this story but it's still is an AU somewhat._

Chapter 1: Victim

Each day of her life Dani dreaded. She dreaded waking up, she dreaded getting dressed, and she especially dreaded having to walk through the halls of that hell they call McKinley High. Oh how she wished she could become as invisible like everybody made her feel. You would think after years of torment that Dani would be able to get used to it but that's just not how it works.

30 minutes didn't pass through the day and yet Dani found herself on the floor, sending her glasses sprawling across the cool tiles. The sound of laughter filled her ears and she didn't even have to look up through her blurry vision to know who had tripped her.

"Watch where you're walking, four eyes." The same raspy voice that has called her all kinds of horrible names since elementary school laughed from above her. The two Cheerios that stuck by her side like glue laughed along with her as they walked away.

Once the bell rang for first period and people began to clear out of the halls, Dani pushed herself up so that she was sitting on her knees. Stretching out both of her arms, she searched blindly for her glasses that she hoped no one carelessly stepped on and broke.

Two flat heeled shoes stopped in front of her causing her to squint up at the person. Through her blurry vision Dani managed to make out an arm extending downwards with a pair of white rimmed glasses in its hand.

"Thanks, Rachel." Dani said quietly, carefully placing her glasses onto her face. Rachel Berry is a lot of things. Arrogant, annoying, loud, a smart ass. But one thing she isn't is a bad person. She had to be the only student in this school who decided that since middle school, Dani is worth helping.

"You don't deserve that." Rachel stated with pursed lips as she helped the blonde onto her feet.

Dani shook her head, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Nobody can hate someone as much as Santana hates me for no reason. Maybe I do deserve it."

Rachel pursed her lips, folding her arms over her chest. "No one deserves to be treated like they're not worth anything. And I know for a fact that you," Rachel's small finger tapped Dani's nose causing the girl to smile. "are defiantly worth tons. And so am I." Rachel added with a small bounce on the tip her toes.

Dani laughed lightly a small glint evident in her eyes. "Yes you are, Rachel."

"I know. That's why I said it." Rachel said with a small flip of her hair and a grin that made Dani roll her eyes playfully.

****  
It was last period when Dani rushed through the halls to get to class. So far she hasn't bumped into Santana since that incident in the morning and she was more than grateful to have not face the Cheerio's wrath. All she had to do was make to to her next class and then she would be home free. But the minute she was slammed into a nearby locker, Dani knew that today is going to be just like any other day.

"Skipping class now are we, _Danielle_?" Santana said in a mocking tone. Next to her stood a tall blonde with piercing blue eyes that shined with amusement at the scene in front of her. Dani never liked Brittany, well that wasn't entirely true. She actually thought of Brittany as a friend until the girl proved to only be a backstabber, liar, and a manipulator.

Dani tried to quickly move past the two only to be slammed back harshly against cool lockers by a tan hand on her shoulder.

"We missed you during Spanish. Why didn't you come to class?" Santana asked with a smirk plastered on her face because she knew the exact reason why. Santana's fluent in Spanish which meant she didn't have to pay attention in class. That results in her tormenting Dani during that full 45 minutes while the teacher pretends to not notice.

"Don't you have something better to do with your life Santana?" Dani asked in a low sharp tone. Immediately, she mentally scolded herself for talking back and feeding into Santana's game. It will only make things worse and she knows that.

"Oooo," Santana laughed, looking over at Brittany who had the same reaction. "Someone's getting reckless with their mouth." That amused expression soon became a deadly one. Dani winced when Santana roughly squeezed her jaw in her hand. "Careful, you might lose your fucking teeth next time you decided to smart mouth me."

"Santana Lopez." A stern accent filled voice called her name and she groaned loudly. The small distraction allowed Dani to remove her jaw from Santana's vice grip.

Principal Figgins stood in the middle of the cleared out hallway and he didn't look pleased. Dani silently thanked God that he brought someone to her rescue.

" get to class. You two come to my office." He motioned toward Santana and a panicked stricken Dani who looked like she would spill her cookies all over the place. She knew exactly what was about to happen because she has been in the same situation 3 times last year. The teachers would attempt to punish Santana for what she's doing and that results in a bigger fire fueling inside the Cheerio which she would take out on Dani the next day. They wanted to help, they just didn't know how.

The shorter girl sunk further into her chair under the pitied looks of and Principal Figgins. She didn't even have to look over to her left to tell that Santana was sending her a death glare.

"Santana do you know why we've called you into this office?" asked.

Santana's glare lifted off of Dani as she turned to look at the curly haired teacher. "Because I was harassing poor innocent Dani." She answered sarcastically. Sometimes, Dani seriously wondered if Santana even saw that what she's doing is wrong.

"Santana I hope you know bullying is a serious issue that can have long lasting effects on a person."

Santana let out a dry laugh. "Okay seriously you're lecturing the wrong girl, Shue. You should've taught this lesson to bug eyes over there in elementary school."

Dani's eyes squeezed shut at the thought of elementary school. Though she swore it wasn't her fault, Santana still held it against her.

sighed. "Listen-"

"No because you know what? I'm so sick of you two treating her like she's a victim and me like I'm some bad person. Dani deserves every single insult, every single push and shove I give her because if she wants to act like a victim, I'll make her one." Santana pushed herself out of her seat and stormed off.

Dani blinked away the tears in her eyes, sniffling as she reached for her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, she stood up and looked down at the ground. "I appreciate you attempting to help me but maybe it'll be best if I handle this on my own." She put on her best convincing smile and left without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: "Accidents"

"Poor Dani." Santana huffed. "Santana maybe you should stop being so cruel to Dani because she's _so innocent._" The girl said in a mocking tone. Above her, Brittany let out a laugh as she toyed with Santana's dark hair. "I'm so sick of her. Those teachers treat her as if she's some damn princess."

"Careful Santana, you're starting to sound jealous." Quinn stated from across Santana's bedroom as she fixed her makeup with a grin on her face.

Santana scoffed and quickly sat up to look over at her friend with an incredulous expression. "I have all the students in McKinley high wrapped around my finger. Do you honestly think I'm jealous of that loser?"

Quinn sighed, halting her actions to turn around and look at Santana. "Well, you sure do talk about how the staff in school treats her a lot."

"Because it's all bullshit." Santana snapped, placing her head back on Brittany's lap. "I refuse to let her walk around without a care in the world like she didn't constantly embarrass me when we were younger. If anything you should understand where I'm coming from, Q."

Quinn does remember what Santana had to go through each time Dani " unintentionally or intentionally, as Santana thinks, put her in a embarrassing situation. "Have you ever thought that those were accidents?"

Santana let out a loud laugh. "Accident. Like the gum incident in 6th grade."

"The flower incident in 4th grade." Brittany added.

"The paint incident in 4th grade."

"The playground incident in 3rd grade."

"The cake incident in 7th grade." Brittany giggled but quickly stopped when Santana shot her a death glare.

"I could make a whole list of the things she put me through. And you were there for each and everyone one of those "accidents". Brittany too. Where were the teachers then?" Santana snapped.

"The paint incident?" Quinn asked with furrowed brows. "I don't think I was there for that one."

A deep frown formed on Santana's face at the memory.

_**The medium sized art room was filled with children talking and laughing with one another as they painted or colored their pictures. A 9 year old Santana sat at her seat, painting a picture of her family happily. She was careful not to get any of the red paint on her new outfit that she wore for picture day.**__****_

_**"Hi, Santana."**__****_

_**Santana's dark eyes lifted from her paper at the sound of a soft voice. A little girl with big hazel eyes and medium length blonde hair stood to the side of her with a jar full of green paint held in between both of her tiny hands. She had a big, welcoming smile on her face.**__****_

_**"Oh. Hi, Dani." Santana greeted politely. Santana remembered the girl from last year, when Dani had pushed her off of the slide right as Santana was about to go down. The incident left Santana with a twisted ankle and a busted lip. Dani cried to the teacher that it was only an accident but Santana remembered feeling both of the blonde's hands on her back before she was shoved harshly.**__****_

_**"I heard you needed some more yellow paint so I went over and got you some." Dani said, extending her arms out to Santana so she could take the jar.**__****_

_**The thoughtful offer made Santana smile. Reaching out her own hands, the tanner girl took the jar from Dani. "That's really sweet. Thank you."**__****_

_**"You're welcome." Dani replied before happily skipping away.**__****_

_**Santana had placed the round plastic jar on the table when something caught her attention. Moving her face closer to the jar to get a better look she only managed to make out what looked like a white string before her vision was blurred by the yellow paint exploding over her face.**__****_

_**The sound caught everyone's attention in the classroom as Santana let out a small yelp, stumbling out of her seat. She wiped at her eyes in attempt to get some of the paint from off her face while walking backward blindly causing her to bump into the shelves full of opened paint jars. The class gasped once all the various colors poured down on the small 9 year old leaving her drenched in the thick paint.**__****_

_**There was a few seconds of silence before the class erupted into laughter. Santana managed to get the paint off of her eyes just in time to catch glimpses of the children laughing and pointing at her.**__****_

_**"Oh my Santana." The teacher said with her hand over her mouth although Santana could clearly see that she wanted to laugh. Tears whelmed in her eyes. The only thing she could think of doing was to run out of the room so that's exactly what she did.**__**  
**_  
"That ties in with one of the worse days of my life." Santana shook her head at the memory. Everyone teased her for a month after that happened and Dani kept apologizing saying that she didn't know what had happened. Santana rolled her eyes at the thought. "Joke's on those bitches because now they all bow at my alter. But you know, I wondered what she used. To make the paint explode like that."

"Waterproof fuse." Brittany answered earning a curious look from Santana.

Quinn's eyes darted to Brittany before looking back at Santana.

"Uh, my brother used to make them at home. He did it so he could make stuff explode in the rain." Brittany added in.

"Yeah, your brother is one weird fucker. And Q, I think I made my point. Everything I do is for a reason."

*****  
Dani hugged her books tightly to her chest as she walked down the hallway, people bumping into her as if she wasn't there. This had to be one of the best parts of her day because she would be safe in glee club. No one would judge her there because everyone was alike. They were misfits, people who didn't live up to the expectations of what this school considered popular. So they were left in the background to either be tormented or if they're lucky, treated as if they didn't exist or in Dani's case that would be both.

But the best thing about glee club is that Dani gets to sing. When she sings, her mind goes blank and for a minute she forgets all the insults that she had been called that day. She would let her eyes close and she would pretend to be on a stage in a long sparkly red dress, singing to an audience of accepting faces. And then she opens her eyes and reality sets in.

"Hey four eyes." Dani tensed when she felt an arm snake across her shoulders. That voice made her tremble because she knew that its only goal is to bring nothing more than anguish to her life.

"Hi, Santana." Dani greeted quietly, looking everywhere except for Santana's piercing brown eyes.

The late bell rung and the halls began to clear out. Dani made a move to turn right to get to where glee club is, where safety is but Santana forced her to continue walking down the hallway to where the girl's bathroom was.

"I think we need to have a little _chat_." Santana sneered right in her ear. Dani gulped not only at the threat but at how close the Cheerio's body is to her. She wasn't use to this, the only physical contact that would go on between them is Santana shoving her against a locker or on the ground and hitting her in the face a couple of times. But something about Santana walking down the hall with her arm thrown over Dani's shoulder like they were the best of friends made the blonde even more nervous than the times she spots the Cheerio stomping toward her.

Once they reached the bathroom Santana took a quick glance behind them before pushing the shorter girl into the empty bathroom and shutting the door.

"Why is it that keeps coming up to me to give me a lecture about how I choose to treat you?" Santana asked with narrowed eyes, arms folded tightly across her chest. Dani could easily read her body language. This one was the 'calm before the storm', as Dani would call it.

"I-I-I don't know." Dani stuttered nervously. She didn't want to say anything wrong because she knew that Santana was on the verge of exploding and she really didn't want a black eye today. "I told him that I would handle it on my own." Dani bit her lip, staring down at the floor in silent prayer that she didn't say the wrong thing.

"Wanna know what it is? Hmm Dani?" Santana started to take steps closer toward Dani who cowered backward into the wall, feeling smaller than she already was compared to the girl. Santana stopped inches from Dani who could feel the Cheerio's breath on her face but she still kept her eyes glued downward. "Maybe it's the fact that you keep walking around these halls like a fucking puppy with its tail between its legs. So here's what we're going to do," Santana abruptly grabbed at the blonde's jaw causing her to let out a small squeak. She forced the shorter girl to look at her. "You're in drama class and you're great at pretending. I want you to walk out of here with a smile on the face like the good little actress you are and convince that pedo that there's nothing wrong. Because I swear to god if I get kicked off of the Cheerios because he decided to file a complaint," She leaned in so she was close to Dani's ear. "I'm going to beat your face until it's a bloody pulp. Understand?" Santana hissed menacingly.

With the little space she had to move, Dani nodded her head. That seemed to be enough for Santana because she let go and moved back, finally allowing Dani some breathing space.

"You better. Because the next time. I won't be so nice." Santana threatened before exiting the bathroom leaving Dani to slowly sink down the wall and let out a loud sob into her hands.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hi me again :D I'm so happy some of you like this story!Your reviews are much appreciated.**_

Walking into glee club didn't feel the same. The feeling of being secure and free was no longer there due to Santana stripping it away from her by a couple of words. Still, Dani did what she had been told and walked inside of the classroom with a smile on her face as she greeted and her other fellow classmates.

No longer could she be herself in glee. Dani had herself on a radar, she had to watch what she said, the facial expressions she made and the songs she would sing. Her only place of escape is now gone, snatched right out her hands and she could only stand there while it happened.

"Dani? Helloooo..."

The sound of Rachel's voice snapped her out of her own thoughts. She didn't even remember taking her seat nor did she see Rachel sitting down next to her. "Yes?"

"I called your name five times." Dani's almost positive that Rachel actually counted. "You were pretty deep in thought, is everything alright?"

That's something else Dani had to work on. No more daydreaming it only resulted in people, who actually cared, questioning her.

The genuine concern in Rachel's deep brown eyes made Dani want to cry. Lying to her is the last thing Dani wanted to do. She desperately wanted to spill her guts to her best friend. Telling how Santana threatened her and how scared it made her feel. How she felt so empty inside but she's being forced to smile her way through the day, pretending to be something she hasn't been in a long time.

But instead Dani settled for what would be best. Forcing that same smile she would show her parents when she got home, Dani answered. "Everything is fine. I was only thinking about what song I should perform today."

Rachel stared at her for a short while. Dani knew what that her best friend is studying her, trying to pick out anything that would give away that the blonde is telling a lie. Dani's been in this situation so many times that she knew exactly what to do.

Hold her head high. Straighten up her back. Hands placed on the sides of the chair she's sitting in and to top it off, a smile that could hide a million emotions.

A small smile crept on Rachel's lips which signaled that she's convinced. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Perhaps you're feeling so much better that you're up to singing a duet with me today?"

Dani giggled. "Sure. But I'm picking the song."

A loud over dramatic groaned escaped from Rachel's lips.

After class was over, Dani was on her way out of the class when stopped her by calling her name.

"I know you told me that you would handle what's going on between you and Santana but I decided to talk to her. Now I didn't use your name. I told her she should consider others feelings and that she should try to ease her actions." He explained with a somewhat hesitant and guilty look on his face.

That's exactly how he should feel because he has no idea what he's done, Dani thought. But she knew she couldn't blame , he only wanted to help. His intentions are to help get Dani in a better place. He has no idea that anything he does will only make the situation worse.

"And I have to thank you, . What you said seemed to have helped and I really appreciate it." Dani lied.

That got the teacher to smile, his face brightening. "Glad I could help."

Dani smiled back even though on the inside she's screaming out for help.

***  
The minute Dani entered through the door of her home she was met with an excited Yorkshire Terrier wagging its tail vigorously as it pawed at her pant leg.

"Hey Lola." She greeted the small dog, bending down to give it a scratch on the head.

"Dani? Honey, is that you?" A modulated voice called from the kitchen. Dani walked down the foyer, stopping to peak around the corner of the entry to the kitchen to find the small woman washing the dishes.

"Hi, Mom."

Her mother turned her head to look at her daughter, the minute she looked at Dani's face her brows furrowed. "What happened to your jaw?"

Her jaw? That's when Dani remembered Santana squeezing her jaw with her long nails digging into the sensitive skin on Dani's chin. The Cheerio must've left a bruise there. "Football accident. I was sitting in the bleachers when it hit me. You know how bad my school's football team sucks." Dani's so used to hiding the truth that telling a lie comes easily to her.

Her mother made a noise of agreement. The smaller woman walked up to her daughter to inspect her face more. "Stay away from that field. I don't want those boys messing up my baby's beautiful face." She pressed a kiss to Dani's temple before walking back over to where she was. "You wanna help me start dinner?"

"Um actually, I wish I could but the teachers gave us a bunch of homework. I should get started on that." Dani turned around and headed for the staircase. Her breathing started to become erratic, she threaded her fingers through her blonde hair in order to calm herself down. At least until she reached her bedroom where she would be alone. And once she walked inside of the room, the tears that she has been holding in since glee club finally spilled out of her hazel eyes.

This is her after school routine ever since freshman year. She would let the tears build up inside of school, not wanting to give people the satisfaction of seeing her break down. Then she would come home with a fake smile and forced happiness so that her parents wouldn't worry. The only place she could let it all out is in the darkness of her bedroom.

Dani wiped at her tears. She was so sick of crying, so tired of being a target, and hating not being in control of how she felt. With wobbly legs, Dani walked inside of her bathroom and flicked on the lights. A young girl with red puffy eyes stared at her in the mirror as she stared back. Dani wondered how it would feel to finally be in control of her own pain, her own misery.

She wanted to see that she's still in control of her own life. She wanted to see if she could somehow, even if it was for a second, get her mind to halt all of the insults and memories that were running back and forth through her mind. That's what led her to open the mirror and take the razor between her thumb and forefinger.

Sliding down against the bathroom wall, more tears flowed out of Dani's eyes as she looked at the sharp piece of metal. Why is it that Santana wanted to so badly make her break completely? The question brought a memory back to her mind.

_**Dani made sure she was the first person in class. She nearly ran to the classroom so that none of the other children would spot her and question her whereabouts.**__****_

_**"Good morning, ." Dani said happily once she entered the classroom.**__****_

_**The teacher looked over at the small 9 year old girl with a smile, she continued to write on the board. "Good morning, Danielle. You're extra early today."**__****_

_**"Uh-huh!" Dani answered as she placed her book bag on top of the table she sat at. "I have something extra special to do for someone." The little girl's small hands rummaged through her Hello Kitty backpack until she found the pink piece of paper she was searching for.**__****_

_** placed the chalk in its holder and looked over at her student. "Is that so? Is this extra special something going to make someone happy?"**__****_

_**Dani skipped over toward the medium sized lockers that occupied the side of the classroom. "I hope so. All the kids make her sad by making mean jokes. I just want to see her smile again." The little girl explained. She slid the piece of paper into the locker then quickly walked over to her seat and acted as if she didn't do anything.**__****_

_**"That's nice of you."**__****_

_**Dani nodded, placing a finger over her lips and making a shushing sound. "You have to keep it a secret."**__****_

_**Right at that moment chatter filled the classroom as children walked over to their seats. Santana walked inside last and went straight to her locker. When she opened it a pink note fell directly in front of her shoes so she bent down to pick it up. She looked around a couple of times then opened up the letter.**__****_

_**It was covered with white and gold glitter. There with tiny red hearts decorated along the spaces of the paper and written in the middle with crayon it said:**__****_

_**With all that paint on you, I thought you were the prettiest piece of art I ever saw. You even looked more beautiful than a rainbow in the sky.**__****_

_**Dani stole a peek over at Santana and managed to catch her classmate smile widely while she read the note. It brought a smile to Dani's face that Santana was finally able to smile again.**__**  
**_  
Dani's lips curved upward as she smiled sadly at the memory. Twirling the razor one last time between her fingers, she let it drop to the floor. This isn't something she could do, this isn't something she _should_ do. Her 9 year old self wouldn't want that. 


	4. Chapter 4

**New chapter! And I love the reviews you guys have been giving me, they really make my day. And btw GLEE 100 OMG IT WAS SOOOOOO GOOD AHHHHHH! Okay I'm done :) (Not my best chapter)**

_**An 11 year old girl with dark hair and dark yet friendly eyes sat at the long **_ _**white tables set up in the lunchroom with both of her blonde best friends. They **_ _**each laughed at one another after one had made a joke. **_

_**"Santana." **_

_**The girl's smile slowly went away when she turned to look at who had said her **_ _**name. Her friends both stopped laughing as well and exchanged looks.**_

_**Santana sighed. "What do you want Dani?" Honestly, she didn't feel safe around **_ _**the shorter girl anymore. Dani's presence never brought good only bad for **_ _**Santana and she couldn't afford anything else "accidentally" happening to her.**_

_**"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you but I didn't know if you noticed you had **_ _**something in your hair." Dani explained, her jaw moving as she chewed the gum in **_ _**her mouth.**_

_**Santana's brows furrowed, hands jerking up to locate whatever is in her long **_ _**wavy hair. "What are you talking about?" **_

_**"I don't think you can feel it. Let me help." Dani went to stand behind the **_ _**girl, placing her fingers in her hair. "I think I lost it-" **__**Santana felt Dani jump slightly from behind her, gasps following right after. **_ _**The nervousness she would always get whenever Dani was around came back full **_ _**force. "What? What's wrong?" **_

_**Santana pushed Dani's hands away with her own to feel in her hair. Long fingers **_ _**touched something wet and soft stuck in her long thick locks. Santana didn't **_ _**even have to ask what is was, the stick pink bubble gum came into view when she **_ _**pulled her fingers back. A noise of horror escaped from her throat catching the **_ _**others attention from around them. **__**Abruptly standing up, Santana glared at Dani who stood there with her mouth **_ _**agape. "You-" The taller girl shakily started but was soon cut off by laughter **_ _**filling the lunchroom.**_

_**Santana looked around in horror at all the kids pointing and laughing at her. **_ _**She felt like that small 9 year old girl who was not to long ago covered in **_ _**paint in 4th grade. The laughter got progressively louder and louder and louder **_ _**up to the point where Santana had to cover her ears because it became too **_ _**overbearing. **__**She crouched down on the floor as people began to crowd around her, pointing and **_ _**laughing. It seemed as if they were getting bigger and she was becoming smaller **_ _**with each passing second. **_  
_**Santana squeezed her eyes shut. "Stop it. Stop it. Stop it." She kept chanting **_ _**while rocking back and forth. "**_**STOP IT**_**.**_

Santana jolted awake with her heart hammering in her chest. Feeling around, she sighed in relief at the familiar softness of her comforter. It was only a dream. No, a nightmare full of memories that she desperately wanted wipe clear from her mind. They just refused to go away no matter what she did.  
She squinted over at the digital clock next to her bed. The red letters indicating that it's 2 AM. The sight made Santana groan as she let her upper body collapse back down onto her bed. In her mind she knew she wasn't going back to sleep.  
****

"San? Are you sleeping? Or are you trying to read because I don't think that's the right way."

Santana lifted her head off of the open textbook to find bright blue eyes looking down at her. When had she entered the library? Oh right, this period is study hall. There's a test this Wednesday that she had to study for but it's impossible to do so when your eyes can't stay open. She took a deep breath then exhaled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"I can't keep my eyes open at all."

Brittany took a seat next to Santana, laying her arms on the table. "Hangover?"

Santana laughed. "No Britt Britt. Lack of sleep that's all."

"I know something that could wake you up."

"Sex?"

"No, not that."

Santana stared upward for a moment as she thought. "There's nothing else I can think of."

"Quinn spotted Dani down the hallway and we were going to pour a slushy on her. Wanna join?" Brittany asked with a hopeful smile.

A wild grin spread onto Santana's face. "Of course."

Dani was stuffing books inside her locker when she felt a presence behind her that made her halt her movements. Turning around had to be the last thing she wanted to do but she knew that she had to either face it now or later. Putting the last book into her locker, shutting it close, she turned around to find Quinn, Brittany, and Santana standing side by side. What caught Dani's attention is the slushy that occupied each of their hands.

"I think you know what's about to happen. So you can make this easy or hard. Either way works for us." Quinn stated with a smile that made Dani feel uneasy.  
Running would be stupid, they would easily shove her on the floor. Yelling? No one would care to come to her rescue. Stalling? That would annoy the three girls further so Dani sighed, taking off her glasses and putting them inside her bag. She carefully sat herself down on the floor. What was the point in fighting anyway?

Quinn of course was the first to slowly pour the blueberry liquid on top of Dani's blonde head before letting the contents in the cup fully dump on her. Brittany was next, with a huge open mouth grin she simply through the slushy on Dani who jumped at the feeling of ice hitting her face. The taller blonde looked over at Quinn and in a way it seemed like she was waiting for Quinn's approval and when Quinn smiled at her Brittany smiled back. Then both of their heads turned toward Santana who held the last cherry slushy.

Santana stepped toward Dani, gripping the large cup in her hand. Dani wiped the leftover grape liquid that dripped down her face and over her eyes. Hazel eyes that were once bright now looked up at the Cheerio with nothing but emptiness, glazed over with tears. For some reason, Santana froze. Staring back at Dani, standing over her, the girl looked so...small and so vulnerable. This scene was all to familiar in Santana's head.

_**Santana sat in the sand box, adding the finishing touches to her small sand **_ _**castle. Whenever she's deep in concentration, the tip of her tongue sticks out **_ _**the side of her mouth and her eyes are squinted slightly unintentionally. A loud **_ _**cry coming from the other side of the playground caught her attention. When she **_ _**spotted a small girl on the ground with tears streaming down her face and a boy **_ _**sticking out his tongue at her, the sand castle was quickly forgotten. **_

_**"Hey!" Santana stormed over toward the scene. Stepping in front of the small **_ _**girl, she glared daggers at the boy. "Why don't you pick on someone your own **_ _**size!" **_

_**The boy laughed at her. "Like you?" **_

_**Santana's small hand shot out, grabbed the boy's nose, twisting and pulling. **_ _**When he began to cry she let him go, watching as he ran away with his nose **_ _**covered. **__**Santana's once angered expression softened when she turned around toward the **_ _**little blonde girl on the floor. "Are you okay?" She asked gently. **_

_**The little girl sniffled and used the back of her hand to brush the blonde **_ _**strands of hair out of her face. Big hazel eyes peered up at the tanner girl **_ _**with a small pout on her lips and dry tears staining her full pink cheeks. "Yes. **_ _**Thank you. That boy was a meanie." She spoke in a quiet voice. **_

_**"A big meanie." Santana agreed, nodding her head. "My name is Santana, what's **_ _**yours?"**_

_**The little girl smiled up at Santana. Her smile made Santana feel warm. **_ _**"Danielle. But everyone calls me Dani." **_

"Santana?" Quinn's voice snapped her out of her small trance. Dani was still looking up at her with those same big hazel eyes."Are you going to do it or not? Because if you aren't I'll-"

"Can it Fabray, I got this." She shouldn't feel guilty for what's she's doing. Dani _deserves_ this. For what she made Santana go through. This is her payback and she shouldn't feel bad because Dani never felt bad or sorry.

Tipping over her cup she let the freezing liquid spill over Dani's head then dropped the cup once the it became empty. Grinning as she leaned down so she was eye level with the girl on the floor she said, "Karma's a bitch, Dani." With that the three cheerleaders left Dani alone in the hallway.

"I'm sorry." Dani whispered once they were gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**I love reading reviews so much and I love that some of you are confused because that's exactly what I was aiming for :) Enjoy this new chapter!**

"You just sat there." Rachel repeated for the 100th time in a row. They were both in the girl's bathroom, Dani had just finished wringing out the rest of her slushy covered hair. It's the end of the day which meant that everyone is cleared out of the school.

"Honestly Rachel what did you want me to do?" Dani asked in an exasperated tone of voice. Letting her wet hair fall against her shoulders, Dani turned to look at her friend."Fight back against three people who have a clear advantage over me? Make this whole situation even worse than it already is? _Rachel_," Dani said, almost pleading. "I'm not you. I-I don't have anything to fight back with. My voice is nothing-I'm nothing."

"That's not true."

"Stop lying to me, Rachel!" Dani exclaimed, her voice echoing against the walls and startling Rachel. "What _you_ tell me isn't true! And I'm done believing it. Maybe I should just accept the fact that I'm doomed to an unhappy life. Maybe-maybe I should accept the fact that I'll never be good enough for anyone." She began pacing back and forth, her whole body shaking. All the insults that her brain has consumed over the past years are exploding. "Maybe I should just accept the fact that I am _**worthless**_. That I am _**nothing**_. That I am _**stupid**_. That I am a _**bitch**_. That I am _**ugly.**_ That I'll never amount to anything in life even if I try my hardest because sometimes your best isn't enough for some people and they want to watch you pick yourself up just to knock you right down again-"

"Dani-" Rachel could see her best friend shaking, the uneven breaths Dani's taking and the redness that's coloring her chest and neck but not one tear has come out of Dani's hazel eyes yet.

"You know how people say that good things come to those who wait?" Dani choked out a laugh then threw her arms up in the air with a sad smile on her face. "Well I waited and waited and waited and," Her arms fell lifelessly to her side. "No good is happening. Maybe I'm one of those people who doesn't get their happy ending because they don't deserve it and that would make Santana right." Dani squeezed her eyes shut, biting down on her bottom lip.

"Dani please calm down." Rachel said gently as she slowly approached the blonde.

"No," Dani's voice cracked. She could literally hear her heart thundering madly in her chest. The air in the bathroom felt like it was slowly becoming thinner leaving Dani with no room to breathe. This shouldn't be happening-not here, not in the bathroom of McKinley High. The last thing she wanted to happen to do is have a breakdown when she's not in the comfort of her own bedroom and here she is. "I'm so sick of waiting. I just want it all to stop."

The breakdown that Rachel saw coming from a mile away finally happened. All the muscles in Dani's body suddenly became weak causing her to collapse to the floor, huge droplets of tears running down her face. "This isn't how my life was suppose to turn out." Dani cried. In attempt to get more oxygen into her lungs Dani took in fast rapid breaths which only made it harder to breathe.

Rachel smoothed down her skirt before taking a seat on the floor next to Dani. "Dani, I need you to try to slow your breathing down. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Can you do that for me?"

Dani nodded and inhaled deeply yet shakily then let a small breath escape her lips.

"Good. You're doing great. Keep going."

Dani took another breath, the shakiness slowly began to fade away with each breath she took in and exhaled. Soon enough, Dani's body became steady again even though her mind still felt somewhat like a jumbled mess. The rate of her heart went back to its normal and steady rhythm.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asked as she pushed back the strands of hair that stuck to Dani's face.

"No. I'm not sure I'll ever be again." Dani replied. She felt tired and her head hurt from the crying that she did, all she wants to do is go home and cuddle up with Lola.

"Don't say that. You're in a dark place right now and instead of waiting for the light to find you, you have to find the light."

"Like...heaven's light?" Dani questioned with furrowed brows.

Rachel's brown eyes widen. "No. No, god, no that's not what I'm saying. Look, the light in your life tends to come in the shape of a person. What I'm saying is you have to find someone who makes you look forward to waking up in the morning. Someone who makes you smile even when they're not around. I'm talking about love, Dani."

Dani snorted with a small roll of her eyes. To her, love is nothing but a myth. "Love? I won't be finding that for a while."

"It's either that or you can always try to reason with Santana." Rachel suggested.

The blonde stared at the shorter girl for a short while before she burst out in laughter. A deep frown formed on Rachel's face as to what Dani found so amusing.

Dani stopped laughing when she realized that Rachel didn't join in with her. "Oh my god you're serious."

"I do believe in finding the root of the problem unlike half of the teachers in the school who immediately attack the person without striving to understand where that person is coming from. They also seem to lack the understanding that bullies were once bullied themselves-now I'm not trying to justify what Santana is doing but was she ever made fun of?" Rachel said all in one breath.

Dani bit down on her bottom lip. "People did tease her when she was younger...and it was sorta my fault."

Rachel arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Dani has never told Rachel about what happened between her and Santana throughout their childhood. Rachel only knows that Dani and Santana have known one another since kindergarten. Dani has this irrational fear that Rachel wouldn't understand and would view it how Santana does.

"I was what you can call a bad luck charm around Santana. It's hard to remember but every time I was around her something embarrassing or bad would happen." Dani tried to explain.

"What do you mean?"

"I once gave her a bunch of flowers that she's allergic to and she had to go to the hospital."

"So you knew she was allergic to the flowers?"

Dani quickly shook her head, this is what she didn't want. "Of course not! Brittany told me they were her favorite type of flower and Santana happened to be really upset that day and I only wanted to-"

"Woah." Rachel put a hand up to stop Dani from saying anything else. "Brittany told you that a flower Santana's allergic to was her favorite flower?"

"Yeah. Initially I was going to pick out lilies for her but Brittany said not to because daises are Santana's favorite. What are you getting at, Rachel?"

"Brittany, Santana and Quinn have all been stuck together like glue. They know everything about one another especially Brittany and Santana. Brittany stopped you from getting flowers that Santana clearly isn't allergic to get flowers that she is allergic to. Are you not adding this up?"

"That Brittany manipulated me? Yeah, twice actually when she gave me that yellow paint that exploded in Santana's face..." Dani paused. That's when she realized what Rachel's implying. Her head snapped toward Rachel who had the same surprised/shocked expression on her face.

Dani suddenly shot up, the memories from elementary and middle school came flooding back to her. "In 3rd grade, I was behind Santana at the top of the slide when I tripped over something and I ended up pushing her. I turn around and who do I see?"

"Brittany." Rachel answered.

"Santana had a feather in her hair in 6th grade and I offered to take it out. When I did, someone pinched me and when I opened my mouth to say ow, my gum fell right into her hair. Who's sitting right next to Santana?" Dani motioned for Rachel to answer again.

"Brittany."

"Oh my god, why didn't I see this before?" All these years Dani was oblivious toward every situation. This whole time she believed that she was bad luck when really she had been manipulated into each scenario. "But it doesn't make any sense, why would Brittany want to sabotage Santana?"

Rachel stood up, dusting off her skirt. "Popularity. No matter what grade or age you are, some people have this intense need to be the center of attention and have a good social status. To them it's important and when they see threats, they would do anything to try and eliminate that person. Friend or not. I didn't know Santana in elementary school but based on how she looks now, I'm guessing she had an amazing appearance when she was younger making her a threat."

Now that Dani thought about it, around that time Brittany and Quinn were both more popular than Santana was. After the whole paint incident, she was the school joke. It made Dani feel terrible for the girl, that someone who she's so close to tried to bring her down for a social status. So how the hell are they supposed to tell Santana this?


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey hey :) I had some serious writers block for like the first time in forever *cue frozen reference* and it sucked. I never want it to happen again. Enjoy this chapter and don't forget to review!**

Dani stood at her locker, watching from a safe distance Brittany and Santana. All smiley and happy with one another, it made Dani's stomach churn. How could a person be so fake with someone who they considered their best friend? It also made Dani pity the girl because Santana has no idea that the one person she shares such a strong bond with is the one who caused her misery at such a tender age.****

"You can always make an attempt to tell her." Dani heard Rachel say from beside her.****

Dani shook her head then turned away when she saw Brittany leaning down to kiss Santana on her cheek. "Like Santana would ever take my word over Brittany's." Dani sighed as she thought about it, putting in her locker combination. "She would take anyone's words over mine."****

"It's rather depressing." Rachel stated, looking over at the two Cheerios down the hallway.****

"My life?"****

"That too but I was actually referring to the situation at hand. Brittany always seemed like such a sweet and innocent girl. But I guess looks can be deceiving."****

Dani nodded in agreement, stealing one more glance over her shoulder at the two girls. "You know what's weird?" She asked as she turned to look at Rachel.****

"What?"****

"For some reason, I don't want to tell her. I mean...look how happy she is with Brittany. Even though it makes me sick that Brittany's not being a true friend I can't help but think that if Santana were to find out it would ruin her. Taking away another person's happiness would mean that I've learned nothing from my experiences." Dani explained.****

Being that Dani was so deep into what she was saying to Rachel, she didn't notice that Quinn happened to walk by and listened to every word that came out of her mouth.****

*******  
**Dani held her books tightly to her chest as she walked home. There was a glee club session that ended late, the sky is now an orange-red color as the Sun set behind its horizon.****

"Hey Dani!" The sound of that voice made her stop dead in her tracks.****

_What are you doing? Keep walking! Run if you have to!_ Dani's mind screamed at her and for once she listened. But the minute she tried to continue down the path, a tall blonde teenager stopped her.****

"Hi, Dani." Brittany's smile at her sweetly, it made Dani nervous. Her anxiety only increased when Quinn finally caught up with them along with three other Cheerios. Her heart nearly stopped when she spotted one of them holding a bat.****

"We've been waiting for you. Wanna go for a walk?" Quinn asked, arching her eyebrow. She then grinned when Dani shook her head quickly. "You don't really have a choice."****

Brittany shoved Dani forcefully from behind causing the shorter blonde to stumble forward. Before she could fall Quinn wrapped an arm around her shoulder and forced her to walk the opposite direction of where home-safety lies.****

"So I happened to overhear you and the Hobbit's conversation earlier. You know? The one in the hallway?" Quinn reminded the girl.****

Dani gulped. She tried to desperately halt her footsteps but with Quinn pulling her and Brittany pushing her they made it impossible. "I-I-I don't k-know what you're talking about." Hopefully lying would stall whatever's about to happen.****

"How about I help re jog that memory of yours." Quinn said, roughly poking at Dani's temple making the girl wince. They turned the corner, the school's field coming into view. "You mentioned Brittany. Her not being a good friend to Santana. And it seems to me that you have some false information."****

Dani's heart started pumping. The blood in her veins ran cold the minute they reached the back of the football field. There has been various moments in Dani's life when she felt fear but this...this had her mind screaming and her whole body quivering. Nothing good could possibly come out of this. Checking her surroundings, Dani felt tears brim in her eyes when she saw that absolutely nobody is around.****

"Spreading rumors isn't nice, Dani." Quinn spoke as if she was scolding a five year old. Once they reached the back of the field Dani found herself being shoved onto the wet grass, sending her books and glasses sprawling across the ground.****

"What rumor? What are you talking about?" Honestly, that statement made Dani confused. Not once in her life have she ever spread a rumor about another person. ****

"You telling loud mouth Berry that Brittany's no good for Santana, big no no. Haven't you learned to keep your mouth shut?" Quinn hissed. "You seem to think you know so much but you know nothing, lets keep it that way." Brittany stood next to her with a lopsided smile on her face. The Cheerio that held the bat in her hand took a few steps forward causing Dani to scurry backward.****

"You had it coming all along. Learn to walk the halls of McKinley in silence." Brittany added in. The Cheerio holding the bat looked over at Quinn who tilted her head toward Dani. With a smirk on her face, the cheerleader swung the bat at Dani's head.****

******  
**Santana hated p.m school, like really really detested the whole concept of it. If it wasn't for that stupid Government teacher calling her parents she wouldn't have to be here until 7 in the damn night. She nearly ran out of the classroom when the teacher announced that they were allowed to leave. Instead of going out of the front entrance like everyone else, she decided to leave out through the back and cut through the field. All of the parking spots were filled leaving her to park her car around the corner of the football field.****

While she walked through the field she noticed a small figure where the bleachers were. Frowning slightly, she squinted her eyes to see if they were deceiving her. Walking closer, her dark eyes made out long blonde hair.****

"Hey girl, you okay?" At first she thought it was just another Cheerio passed out drunk under the bleachers but as she got closer she noticed the person was lying face down and they didn't seem to be breathing.****

A lot can be said about Santana but she wasn't exactly heartless. Clearly something wasn't right so she went toward the girl, kneeling down next to her. Carefully, she rolled the girl over until her face was visible and gasped at what she saw.****

"Shit. Dani?"****

Dani's right eyebrow seemed to be split along with her bottom lip. A fresh purple bruise was forming itself on the side of her temple and along her jaw. A small bump stuck out on her cheek. There was dry blood matted on her face leaving Santana clueless as to what happened to the girl.****

"Dani? Dani, can you hear me?" Santana tapped the girl's face trying to get a reaction. "Come on, don't be dead." She used her index and middle finger to feel for a pulse on Dani's neck, sighing in relief when she could feel it pumping against her fingertips.****

Slowly, Dani's eyes opened halfway. Those once bright hazel eyes looked so incredibly dark now an it wasn't from the lack of light. "Ra-Rachel?"****

Santana cringed at being called that name. That's when she noticed that Dani didn't have her glasses on. In fact, she spotted the blonde's glasses a few feet away from the bleachers, smashed, along with a few scattered books. "What the hell happened to you?"****

"My face hurts." Dani cried out in an hoarse voice, squeezing her eyes shut. Tears tricked out of the sides of her eyes. When Dani cried out in pain again, the blood that stained her teeth became visible.****

For once in her life, Santana felt truly sorry for the girl. Sure, she shoved Dani on the floor or into a locker a few times and may have once or twice hit her in the face but this was a brutal attack. "Listen, I'm going to call 911. You'll be okay." Santana reassured Dani while she dug into her purse for her phone.****

Dani squinted up. "Santana?"****

"Hello, I have an emergency. My umm...classmate is badly hurt." Dani groaned and tried to weakly move away. With a confused look, Santana stopped her from making any further movements as she told the police the address of the school but Dani kept moving. "What the hell is your deal?" Santana snapped at the girl once she hung up the phone.****

Dani flinched and a whimpering sound escaped her throat. At that moment Santana realized that Dani thought she came to finish her off. A twinge of guilt pinched at her heart.****

"Christ Dani, I'm not here to kill you. Why would I call the cops before I did? Give me some credit here, I'm not that stupid." This is Santana's way of making the girl feel better. Apparently it didn't work because Dani completely broke down after wards.****

"I'm so sorry, Santana." She cried.****

Santana rolled her eyes. She didn't want to deal with this right now. Right now, she needed the ambulance to get here fast.****

"Can we not do this? Do this on a day where I can simply walk away and I'm not forced to listen." Santana spat harshly but Dani didn't seem to hear her or she ignored her.****

"You didn't deserve anything that happened to you. It was all my fault. I was gullible enough to be manipulated by someone who didn't even know what 2+2 was." Dani sobbed.****

Santana's eyes darted toward the girl. "What are you talking about?"****

"Why are you speaking so quietly?" Dani asked with her eyes half opened.****

Santana's brows furrowed in confusion because she's speaking with her outside voice.****

"Everything's so blurry." The blonde whispered, her eyes closing.****

That's when Santana panicked. The sirens of the ambulance filled Santana's ears. "No no no. Dani!" She tapped at Dani's face, shook the girl's head, she even pinched her and still got no response.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey beautiful people I have a new chapter for you guys! Also I would like to inform you guys that I'm getting essays like everyday now so if I don't update ask quickly as I use to that would be why. But I'll try my best!**

Beep.****

Beep.****

Beep.****

The gentle sound of the monitor is what woke Dani up. Her eyes fluttered open only to be met with blurry whiteness all around her. Is she dead? Casting her eyes downward she managed to make out the skinny tubes taped to her arms that hooked up to the heart monitor next to her. The events from before entered her mind. Quinn, Brittany, and a few other Cheerio's jumping her. Yelling dangerous threats as they beat her until she couldn't see straight. It brought tears to her eyes at how bad her life has become. Then Santana came into her mind. Her only savior when she believed that she would bleed to death. Santana Lopez of all people.****

A gentle knock at the door startled her slightly. A female nurse with short dark hair cut into a bob, red lipstick and pale skin walked inside the room.****

"Hi Danielle. How are you feeling? I'm nurse Liz." Liz has a sweet small voice that Dani could listen to all day. It sure as hell beats listening to the cruel taunts she receives on a daily basis.****

"Not my best. Everything hurts." Everything did hurt. She felt like if she were to move any part of her body it would break off. Dani couldn't even imagine how she must look.****

"You're a strong girl you know that?" You ended up with multiple bruises and a broken collar bone. The doctors were afraid you wouldn't wake up." Nurse Liz informed Dani, a look of pity on her face.****

"I don't exactly feel strong." Dani replied quietly.****

"Of course not physically now. Mentally you are whether you believe it or not." Liz smiled.****

The door swung open catching both Liz and Dani's attention. Behind it stood Dani's mother, Eddie her step father, her little sister and Rachel.****

"I'll give you guys some privacy." Nurse Liz said before exiting the room.****

Her mother had her mouth covered, tears whelming in her eyes as she took in Dani's current state. "My baby girl." She went toward the hospital bed and gently took Dani in her arms.****

"It's okay, Mom." But it wasn't okay. None of this was okay and Dani's well aware of that. She thought that maybe if she keeps telling herself that then it will come true. So far that idea hasn't had the desired affect.****

When her mother pulled back, the woman was shaking her head. "Look at your face. What happened?"****

Dani opened her mouth to speak.****

"Who did this to you?" Eddie cut her off before she could say anything.****

"Was it one person? More than one?"****

"Did they do anything else to you?"****

Dani squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. Rachel took notice of Dani's distress and decided to step in.****

"Mrs. and Mr. Taylor, I think Dani is a bit overwhelmed by the all the passing events. It would probably be best to ease up on the questions until her head is more clear. Don't you agree?" Rachel said.****

looked over to her husband who nodded in agreement, putting a supporting hand on her shoulder.****

"Right. I'm sorry, Dani. Do you need any-" Her mother stopped herself before asking another question. "You love soda. Can she drink soda? Water! I'll go and get you water! You must feel dehydrated." She continued to ramble as she walked out of the room.****

"I'll make sure your mother is okay. Feel better, kiddo." Eddie said to Dani, placed a kiss on top of her head, then went to follow his wife.****

Dani turned her head to look over at Rachel who's helping Maddie on to the hospital bed. The sight of her younger sibling brought a smile to her face. "Hey Maddie."****

The six year old tilted her head, her eyes wondering over Dani's face. "You don't look the same anymore." Maddie stated rather sadly.****

Dani sighed. She didn't feel the same either. With everything going on in her life, she barely knows who she is anymore. "After a couple of weeks or so I'll look like Dani again. I promise." She reassured her little sister, taking her tiny hand in hers.****

"What happened to you?" Maddie asked.****

Rachel looked over at Dani, waiting for an answer as well.****

Dani opened her mouth to speak then closed it. A threat that Quinn yelled popped into her head. "Um. Some very bad people wanted to hurt me."****

"But why? You're one of the sweetest most nicest people I know. You even let me have the last slice of pizza." Maddie pouted.****

Dani looked up so the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes wouldn't fall. "I don't know why either."****

"Hey Maddie," Rachel dug into her purse and pulled out a single dollar bill. "Why don't you go get something out of the vending machine."****

A wide smile spread on the little girl's face. "Thank you, Rachel." She took the dollar out of Rachel's hand, hopped off the bed and skipped out of the door.****

Rachel leaned on the railing of the hospital bed. "Can I know who these bad people are?"****

Dani shook her head.****

"Can I get a hint to who these bad people are?"****

Dani shook her head again.****

Rachel sighed. "Dani, you know you can tell me anything. I'm your best friend why won't you just-"****

"Rachel it's not that easy."****

That statement took Rachel aback. "What do you mean? Dani, I need you to tell me what happened. Please."****

Dani felt the tears coming."I can't." She's so sick of crying all the time. "You don't understand."****

"Then help me understand. I want to understand." Rachel pleaded.****

"They threatened you okay!" Dani exclaimed. "They told me that if I were to tell anyone what happened that you would get the same treatment."****

Rachel straightened up, shock evident on her face. "It was Quinn and Brittany wasn't it?" Those were the only people that Rachel could think of besides Santana.****

"Rachel you can't tell anyone. Not my parents, not , not any other teacher. Okay? Please, I couldn't bare the thought of anything bad happening to you. Promise me?"****

Rachel seemed hesitant at first but the look on Dani's face changed her mind."I promise."****

******  
**Santana searched the halls for the two blondes she had been searching for all day. Finally, she spotted them at Brittany's locker and it looks like they were in the middle of a deep conversation. Too bad Santana didn't care.****

"Next time you decide to brutally attack a person," Santana began as she walked up to the two Cheerios. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out Brittany's gold name bracelet. "Don't leave evidence."****

Quinn glared at Brittany who shrugged helplessly. "It must've slipped off my wrist when I hit Dani." Brittany explained with hints of amusement dripping from her voice.****

Santana dropped the bracelet in Brittany's palm. "Are you two idiots? Since when do you beat people to near death and leave them in the damn field of our school?" Santana hissed.****

Quinn rolled her eyes, leaning on the lockers behind her. "Don't throw such a hissy fit, Santana. We only did what you were going to eventually do anyways."****

Santana raised an eyebrow at Quinn, not believing what she had just heard. Sure she couldn't stand Dani, sure she shoves her around here and there, and of course she flings insults whenever she gets the chance but never has she thought about beating the girl to the point where she had to go to the hospital. Let alone did she find the situation the slightest bit funny. "Did it make you two feel big? Knowing that I had to call an ambulance for her?"****

Quinn scoffed. "So now you're a saint? Does it make you feel big when you shove Dani into lockers everyday? You're just as bad as us, Santana."****

Santana's jaw clenched but she knew that the blonde Cheerio had a point. It doesn't take a scientist to realize that Santana is one of Dani's biggest tormenters but she has a reason. She's only getting revenge on what Dani has done to her before. So that makes it okay, right? "You know why I do what I do Quinn."****

"Well, that freak had it coming. She shouldn't be telling rumors to loud mouth Berry about Brittany."****

Santana's eyes wondered over to Brittany. "What rumor?"****

A grin formed on Quinn's face."Exactly. Thanks to us there is no rumor. We did what we had to do and if you were really Brittany's best friend you would do the same." With that being said, Quinn walked away.****

"Bye, San." Brittany said in a quiet voice, placing a kiss on the girl's cheek before following after Quinn.****

******  
**"Berry!" Santana walked up to Rachel after spotting her in the parking lot.****

A look of panic flashed across Rachel's face."Santana if you're here to harass me for no logical reason then I suggest you stop right there because both of my Dads will be here soon and frankly they wouldn't be-"****

Rolling her eyes at Rachel's rambling she waved her hand which meant stop. "Shut it, yentle. I need to talk to you about something important."****

"Important? What can possible be urgent that involves both me and you?" Rachel questioned.****

"Dani."****

The change in Rachel's demeanor was evident. "What about Dani?"****

"Quinn said that Dani told you a rumor about Brittany. What is it." Santana demanded more than asked.****

The promise that she made Dani instantly pulled at her conscience. "I'll tell you on one condition."****

"Listen, telling me to stop treating Dani a certain way won't work so don't even try it." Santana abruptly said, folding her arms over her chest.****

Rachel only smiled. "After what I tell you, I won't need to say that. I just need you to promise me that if Quinn and Brittany come after me, you'll stop them."****

"I don't have powers, Berry. What the hell do you expect me to do? Stand in front of you and go "Swiper no swiping" until they leave?"****

Rachel rolled her eyes. "If you want to know that bad, I think you'll figure something out."****

Watching Rachel for a moment, she decided to do this her own way. "How about I just hit you in the face until you decide to fess up?" For Santana, threats were always the way to go.****

The sound of a car horn honking caught both of their attention, their heads looking in the direction of the grey SUV pulling up. Rachel turned back to Santana with a raised eyebrow.****

Santana groaned. "Whatever. I'll make sure they don't break your face now spill." She said quickly.****

"Remember all the horrible deeds you swore Dani did to you back when you two were younger?"****

"Obviously."****

"Well, I'm going to need you to brace yourself Santana because you're not going to like what I have to say."**  
**


	8. Chapter 8

Rachel paced back and forth by Dani's hospital room, biting her nails and contemplating when she should go inside. Whenever she would reach for the door knob, almost immediately she would place her hand right back at her side. After a few more minutes of pacing back and forth and using a few breathing techniques, Rachel gathered herself and walked halfway inside of the hospital room.

Dani had stayed in the same position when Rachel left yesterday only this time she had a blue sling on her arm that went around her neck. The blonde had both of her eyes closed, her head propped up on a pillow as it lolled to the side.

"Dani?" Rachel stepped fully inside, shutting the door lightly. "Are you awake?"

One of Dani's eyes opened before the other did the same. She lifted her head slightly. "Oh hey Rach." The tone of her voice sounded drowsy and lazy.

"Are you feeling better?" Rachel asked.

"Yeaah, they give me these painkillers and I feel..." Dani paused. "Awesome." She finished with a lazy smile.

Rachel laughed lightly at Dani's ditzy behavior. "That's great."

"You know what else is great? They took an x-ray and it turns out that my thingy," She brushed her fingers over her collar bone. "Isn't broken. Only fractured, so all I have to do is wear this arm carrier for a couple of weeks and I'll be all better."

"Once again that's really great Dani and I'm super happy that you're feeling better than yesterday. And I also have some news for you too." Rachel stepped closer to Dani's beside. It's now or never.

Dani's whole face brightened, both of her eyebrows raised slightly. "Really? You do?" She asked excitedly.

"Yeah." Rachel returned Dani's excited tone of voice. Maybe she could use Dani's drowsy state as an advantage. Since she's not in her proper state of mind she'll take the news easier, right? "I told Santana about Brittany." She said quickly.

"You told Santana about Brittany. Mhm." Dani replied gently, her eyes closing and her head once again lolling to the side. Suddenly her eyes popped open. Careful not to hurt her collarbone any further, she lifted her head up slightly and turned to look at Rachel as if she had a third eye. "You told Santana. You actually told Santana."

"Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"

"Yes-but-I-." Dani stopped. She could feel her heart rate increasing and she had to calm down. The doctor instructed her to take it easy. "What did she say?"

When Rachel said nothing, Dani looked over at her. Rachel stood there, staring at the ground and biting her lip like a little kid that had just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Rachel."

"She sorta didn't say anything." Rachel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "She only slapped me." The shorter girl murmured but Dani still managed to here it.

"She what? Oh my god, Rachel are you okay?" Dani tried to sit up more but Rachel placed her hand lightly on Dani's shoulder.

"I'm fine. I swear. The slap actually didn't hurt as much as I expected it too. The impact of it only shocked me, I think it shocked her to." Rachel admitted. Santana did look truly surprised by her own actions and Rachel still isn't sure if it's because she didn't mean to hit her or because she didn't mean to hit her in front of her Dads.

Dani exhaled deeply, placing her free hand over her forehead. "I'm s-"

"Don't." Rachel cut Dani off, already knowing what her friend was going to say. "No apologies. Nothing's your fault. You didn't make me tell Santana anything and you didn't make her hit me in reply."

Dani stayed silent for a moment, staring up at the white ceiling. "Do you think she'll talk to Brittany about it?"

Rachel shrugged. "You and me both know that Santana is unpredictable. Whatever happens, I'll take the consequences."

****  
Santana sat at her desk in Trigonometry with her chin propped up in her hand, watching Brittany try to balance a pencil on her nose three seats away. What Rachel said yesterday stayed put in her mind and no matter how bad she wanted it to disappear, it constantly kept replaying in her brain.

_**Brittany isn't being honest with you.**__****_

_**You think you know her so well but you don't.**__****_

_**Dani's innocent.**_

That's not true. Brittany is innocent. The girl can barely recite her ABC's without becoming flustered. How could she have possibly create all those schemes? Rachel's voice appeared in her head again.

_**It's always the people you least expect.**_

Why would Rachel try to make up a lie about Brittany? Santana knows Rachel, the short girl isn't stupid at all. Having the knowledge of what Santana is capable of doing, knowing the advantage that the Cheerio had over Dani. Why would Rachel risk something like that?

Santana watched Brittany pick up books for a girl that had dropped them while walking down the aisle of the classroom. Santana remembered the day Dani pushed her off of the slide. The Cheerio strained herself to remember what took place after. There was the pain of feeling her ankle twist, the metallic taste of blood coating her bottom lip, the tears running down her face but there's something else. She remembers someone yelling at the top of the slide but she can't decipher what they're saying.

Santana huffed in frustration. Santana Lopez doesn't do frustration, if there's something bothering her she's going to fix it. When the lunch bell rang, Santana gathered her belongings and went up to the blonde Cheerio in the front of the room.

"Brittany, can I talk to you?" Santana kept her voice leveled so that Brittany wouldn't know anything's wrong or ask if something's wrong.

Brittany's face and eyes lightened. "Of course, San." She replied enthusiastically.

The pair walked out of the classroom, down the hallway until the reached the huge doors that led to the auditorium.

"So what do you want to talk about, San?" Brittany asked once they reached the stage. The taller Cheerio sat on the edge whereas Santana settled for leaning on it with her forearms.

"Remember when Quinn told me that Dani was spreading rumors about you?" Santana started, making sure to keep an eye on the facial expressions Brittany would make. Santana knows her best friend better than anyone else and she well aware that Brittany will crack easily if put under pressure.

Brittany's light eyebrows furrowed only slightly before going back to normal. "Yeah...I remember."

"I went to ask Berry what exactly Fabray was yapping about and-funny thing is... Berry started telling me this story. Turns out that Dani told her what went down when we were younger but her story isn't exactly how I remember. Jog my memory for me a bit, how exactly did Dani know the exact flower that triggers my allergies?"

_Don't look away, Brittany._ Whenever Brittany tells a lie she never makes eye contact and Santana is well aware of that. In her mind, she's silently begging that the girl she has known and trusted for years is being as 100% truthful as she says.

Brittany's eyes wondered down to the floor, the blonde shrugged her shoulders lazily. "I don't know. Lucky guess?"

Santana shook her head and let out a long sigh through her nose. "Brittany. Did you set Dani up?"

That caused Brittany's bright blue eyes to snap toward Santana's face. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"

"All those incidents...they weren't Dani's fault were they?" Santana kept her voice steady but she could feel her heart pumping violently in her chest.

"Of course they were!" Brittany exclaimed, sliding off the edge of the stage onto her feet so that she's standing in front of the other Cheerio. "How could you even ask me that?"

"You're lying." Santana stated simply. "I can't believe I was so oblivious. You were always right there whenever something happened. Right next to Dani."

Tears begin to whelm in Brittany's eyes. "Please let me explain."

Santana quickly turned the opposite direction and made her way down the aisles of the auditorium. She didn't want to stay and hear this, she could already feel her blood boiling and the tears glazing over in her own eyes from the betrayal. Never in her life has she felt so stupid, so manipulated, so hurt.

"Santana wait! You don't understand!" Brittany pleaded after her.

That made Santana stop dead in her tracks. The girl turned around with an incredulous look on her face along with tears staining her cheeks. "I don't understand? What is there to understand Brittany! What that you're the reason I was bullied all throughout elementary school? That at the age of 10 I was already crying myself to sleep at night because of all the cruel words that were said to me because of you!" Santana paused when a certain person crossed her mind. "Oh my god. You watched me torture someone for years who didn't deserve any of the shit I gave her. You're sick, Brittany. Fucking twisted in the head."

"No, it isn't like that! I made a mistake!"

Santana let out a dry laugh. "No. I made a mistake. Believing you were my friend was my mistake. I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you, I don't even want to look at you. So do me a favor and stay the hell out of my life." With that being said Santana stormed out of the auditorium, she didn't even bother to spare Brittany one last glance. There were other important things on her mind that she knew she had to fix.

***

Something about hospitals always made Santana's skin crawl. She hated the anxiety of sitting in one, she hated the smell, and she hated seeing all the sick and wounded people. But if she wanted to do what she has to do, this is the price she has to pay.

"Hi, is there a girl by the name of Danielle Taylor here?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey my gorgeous readers :) New chapter and I love reading your reviews they make me smile a lot! Enjoy :D**

Should she do this? Maybe it's too soon. It would be better to wait. The longer the wait the sweeter the fruit, whatever that means. Santana let out an audible groan. This isn't something she's used to doing, she has never even been in this type of situation before. She's almost positive that nobody has been in a situation such as this one before.

If the circumstances were different she wouldn't have any issue with speaking with Dani. And that's the issue, this time around is different. She isn't slinging insults at the girl, she isn't shoving her against lockers, and she isn't dumping slushies on her either. Now she has to make nice to make up years of being terrible and to get this damn sting out of her heart and mind. What's that emotion called again?

Santana knocked once then twice on the tall white door before twisting at the knob and letting herself inside. There lay Dani facing away from the door with flowers and get well balloons surrounding the bed, adding color to the dull white room.

"Dani." Santana said the girl's name carefully as she walked toward the bed. "I mean no harm. I promise." She added.

When she stopped at the side of the bed she saw that Dani's sound asleep but that isn't what grasped her attention. The bruises that formed on Dani's face were now a yellowish-brown color, the cut on her lip is still a bit swollen and the skin along her collarbone had turned a reddish color. Santana's dark eyes wondered over the sling on Dani's arm and then she sighed because even though she didn't take part in doing this to the girl, she could still be held responsible.

"The fact that you're asleep makes this a whole lot easier for me. My ego is still a bit big so I promise that later on I will give you this apology directly but this will have to do for now." Santana leaned her forearms on the railing of the bed. "Berry spilled everything. How Brittany set you up for so many years to make me torment you for no reason. And I know this won't fix anything and it won't take back all the mean words I said but...it's a start. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a terrible person to you when you've never done anything wrong. And for not realizing earlier that I was being lied to. If I did you wouldn't be in a hospital and you'd be much happier. Now I'm not really good at the whole nice thing but I'll try my best everyday to make it up to you. Or at least until I stop feeling so horrible about myself. So this is something for the both of us, that way I'm not being selfish." The stinging in her heart didn't feel so intense anymore. Santana tilted her head and gave Dani one last look over before adding softly. "Feel better, Dani."

That made her feel a little better. Wow, saying nice things does make you feel like a better person. Who would've known? Santana quietly exited the room, shutting the door softly behind her so she wouldn't wake up Dani.

"Santana?"

When she turned around there stood a shorter girl in front of her with a puzzled expression. "Berry."

Rachel's eyes darted back and forth between the door and Santana before widening. "Why were you inside Dani's room? You didn't do anything to her did you?" The brunette's tone was full of panic and it made Santana roll her eyes at how dramatic the girl could be.

"Calm your ass, Berry. This isn't some horror movie. Your girl is fine." Santana reassured her.

"Oh."

Silence fell between the two only the sound of phones ringing, wheels rolling on the hard floor and monitors beeping filling the air. Rachel stared down at her own two feet, fidgeting with her fingers, and biting down on her bottom lip. What do you say to a person who slapped you no longer than two days ago?

"Okay," Santana decided to break the silence and capture Rachel's attention. "Since we're alone and I'm sort of on a friendly high, I wanna apologize for hitting you that day. It's just that I was really sick of people telling me the whole "he said she said" deal. It made my head fuzzy and you happened to be there at the time. So excuse my anger."

A smile slowly formed onto Rachel's face. "I forgive you, Santana." Extending her short arms, Rachel took a few steps closer only to be stopped by Santana putting out her hand.

"Woah stop right there. Don't go all gay on me alright, dwarf?"

Rachel let her arms fall down to her sides but the small on her face didn't falter because she knew that it was only Santana putting up her walls. Nothing personal. "So you now you know, huh?"

"Yup."

"Are you doing okay?" Rachel tried to place herself in Santana's shoes. How would she feel if Dani lied to her for so many years and ended up being responsible for the reason she was taunted? Pretty damn upset that's how.

"Yup."

Rachel gave her a knowing look, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you lying, Santana?" She asked gently in hope that the girl standing before her would open up at least a little.

Santana's gaze lingered downward until she locked eyes with the ground. "No." She answered once she looked back up." I feel like shit if you want me to be honest. But I'm Santana Lopez, I'll get over it."

Good thing she's a great liar.

***  
"Wow, our Brittany? Who knew the girl had it in her?" Quinn questioned in disbelief. The two Cheerios were walking down the school hallway when Santana had filled Quinn in on everything that went down yesterday.

"That's the thing. No one did. I mean I expected something like this from you but not Brittany." Santana admitted, halting her steps at her locker.

"Glad to know how much you trust me." Quinn murmured while rolling her eyes as she put in her locker combination.

"You didn't know about this? Right?" She had to make sure. As of now, she had no idea who to trust anymore. Brittany is living proof that the person you trust the most could be the one holding a knife behind their back.

Quinn paused for a few seconds before she turned to face Santana with a hand cocked on her hip. "You think I did?"

"I'm not saying you didn't." Santana quickly retorted.

"No Santana. I had no idea." Quinn answered shortly then resumed what she had been doing before. "And don't worry, I'm not offended that you would ask me that." The blonde added sarcastically.

Santana opened her mouth to respond only to snap it shut abruptly when she spotted Puck walking down the hallway with a large Cherry slushy in his hand. When he walked past Santana he flashed her a lazy grin following with a wink. He then tilted his toward something-more like someone down the hallway.

With a confused expression Santana turned her attention to whoever is in that direction. When she spotted Rachel talking to Kurt her confusion grew because Puck uses grape for Rachel, they thought it made the short girl look like a teletubbie. Cherry would be for Dani be for Dani because it made her look similar to Carrie half of the time. But Dani isn't in school...

Santana quickly got proven wrong when she craned her neck resulting in her spotting the girl standing by the water fountain, in the same condition she saw her yesterday. No, Puck wouldn't be that cruel would he? She didn't wait to test out that theory instead she followed Puck.

"Santana what are you doing?" Quinn called after her but she ignored her and continued walking.

Dani noticed the two of them walking toward her, Santana walking at a fast pace and Puck holding a slushy is enough to make her heart fall into her stomach. Dani stood there frozen with wide eyes filled with terror at the thought of what's about to happen. What she didn't expect is for Santana to stop a few inches from her and turn her back.

"What are you doing? Move out the way." Puck said.

"You're not throwing a slushy on Dani." Santana stated in a firm voice with her arms crossed over her chest. "To get to her you have to get through me."

Puck scoffed. "Who's to say I won't slushy you and the loser right now."

"You can slushy me." Santana shrugged, clearly unfazed by his threat. "But, I'm pretty sure that you've grown attached to having both of your balls over the years and wouldn't want them to suddenly be ripped away from your penis. Do you really want to test me, Puck?" She narrowed her eyes in a deadly manner.

Puck's jaw visibly clenched. "Man whatever." He turned around and walked the opposite direction.

Santana smiled in triumph. Violence is always the way to go and threats, threats are always useful. After a few seconds, Santana turned to face Dani who seemed to be staring at her the whole time but the blonde quickly averted her eyes. That's when Santana noticed something different about Dani. It felt like something is missing but what is it? Oh right! The glasses that usually take up half of Dani's face were no longer there, finally giving Santana a chance to see just how big and brown they are. Call her cliche but they literally reminded her of pools of fresh honey. Something in between maple syrup and swirls of caramel chocolate. But what bothered Santana is how dark Dani's golden eyes are, aren't gold colored eyes supposed to be light? Dani's seemed so...dull and lifeless like she had zero energy-

"Santana?" Dani had a puzzled yet curious expression.

"Huh?" Shit, had she been staring?

"Um, I said thank you for um you know- what you did for me." Dani said as she fidgeted under Santana's stare looking anywhere but the Cheerio's face.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Santana replied with a small smile. Then they stood there. This is more awkward than she thought.

Once the bell rang the hallway began to slowly clear out. Santana watched, biting her bottom lip in hesitation as Dani turned to go to her third period class.

"Dani."

Dani stopped and turned to once again face Santana. She couldn't help but feel guilty at how nervous Dani suddenly became when she heard Santana call her name.

"I wanted to say um-" Come on, spit it out Lopez. You can do this. "That I'm um-" It didn't feel right. Making her apology in the middle of a halfway empty hallway, the hallway where she tormented Dani in more ways than one. She had to do something better or else she'll have to live with this guilt forever and Santana doesn't do guilt. "Never mind."

Dani nodded, casting her eyes downward and shuffling away. Part of Santana wanted to run and hug Dani because now that she isn't blinded by revenge and rage she can visibly see how broken and sad Dani seems. No wonder people felt bad and tried to defend her.

Santana groaned loudly and banged her fist on a locker nearby before resting her head on it. Never in her life has she hated Brittany so much, how could anyone be so heartless? Santana scoffed at herself because she isn't any better. What class did she even have right now? Right, study hall. Huffing, she trudged down the hallway until she reached the library where she spotted Rachel sitting down at a circular brown table with her eyes fixated on whatever book she's reading.

"Berry-"

"Sh!" The librarian put a finger to her lips, shaking her head in disapproval as she narrowed her eyes at Santana.

Santana didn't spare her a look, she merely flipped the old lady the bird and leaned both of her hands on the table Rachel is.

"Is there something I can assist you with, Santana?" Rachel questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about Dani." 


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, sorry for a late update. I had another case of writer's block due to midterms in school but I'm back now! :) Don't be shy when reviewing!**

"Come again?" Rachel's brows furrowed. Are her ears clogged? Is she hearing properly?

Santana pulled out a chair and sat down in it."Tell me everything you know about Dani. Like her favorite color, favorite movie, flowers she likes-"

"Woah. Hold on, why are asking about Dani's interests? Are you planning to do something terrible?" Rachel asked the last part suspiciously earning an eye roll from Santana.

"Berry, listen. The whole feud between me and Dani is officially over. No more plotting, it's done." Santana proclaimed firmly. "I only want to know more about Dani so I can make up all the years of torment."

"Then how about you do exactly that. Go and get to know Dani by befriending her." Rachel stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and it actually is.

"Befriend?"

"Yes, Santana. Befriend; act as a friend to someone by offering he-"

Santana waved her hands with an annoyed expression on her face. "I know what that means Berry I'm not stupid!" She snapped.

Rachel didn't seem taken back or upset by Santana's sudden outburst, she merely tapped her nails on the table and stared at the Cheerio, her face basically saying "Are you done?".

Santana sighed. "Sorry. You can be a bit of a smartass sometimes and it's annoying. What I was getting at is that me and Dani...aren't exactly the same. We don't really share the same interest and no offense to her but...she's sorta a nerd."

Rachel laughed. "That's exactly what someone who doesn't have a clue who Dani really is would say. If you ever want to make it up to her, get to know her. I promise you won't regret it."

Santana did want to make things better. She didn't want to die knowing that she couldn't step over her own pride to make someone else happy. "Fine. I'll try, I guess. What does Dani have now?"

"Dani has PE but she's sitting out due to her injuries." Rachel answered, flipping a page in her book.

"Then that gives me a perfect opportunity to talk to her." Santana said as she stood and turned her back, getting ready to walk away.

"Oh and Santana." The Cheerio stopped to look at the brunette with a raised eyebrow. "Be gentle. Choose your words very carefully."

Santana frowned slightly. "I'm not going to attack her with words, Berry. I know what I'm doing." She defended herself before walking away.

Rachel only turned her attention back to her book with a small sigh because she knew exactly how that situation is going to play out.

***  
Santana entered the gym, her eyes scanning the large room of teenagers playing volleyball. When she stepped inside further she spotted Dani sitting in the bleachers at the far end, writing in a small book with her good hand, her head is bowed slightly so that her hair is blocking her face and obviously her view because when Santana ended up standing no less than 3 inches away from her she didn't notice until the Cheerio cleared her throat.

Dani's head lifted slightly, she peeked up at Santana through her long dark lashes before quickly closing her book and averting her eyes. "I'm sorry, do you need me to move?" She asked, ready to stand up and move.

Santana placed a gentle hand on Dani's arm but the girl still flinched at her touch. "No. You can stay, I just want to talk."

Dani settled back down onto the wooden seat, reopening her small notebook to continue what she had been writing.

"Whatcha writing?"

"Lyrics." Dani answered, keeping her head down.

Santana raised an eyebrow. She was sure that Dani was solving math problems in that little notebook of hers. "Really?You write songs? For how long?"

Dani's eyes furrowed for a short while as she glanced over at Santana from the corner of her eye. "Ever since I learned to speak in coherent sentences. So that's age 3 or 4."

"You any good?"

"I like to think I am." Dani answered slowly. Finally, she turned her head to look over at the girl sitting right beside her. "Santana are you feeling...well?"

"I feel fine. Why?" Santana replied, genuinely confused for a moment.

"You're asking personal questions, " Dani paused and Santana stared at her. "About me." Dani added, in attempt to make her point more clear but Santana still gave her a blank stare. "And you sound genuinely interested. It's weird."

That actually is true. If someone told Santana a couple of months ago that she would be sitting here and actually trying her best to her a conversation with Dani Taylor she would either laugh or slushy the person before they could even finish the blonde's name.

Santana looked down at her fingers. "I know it's a bit strange for me to speak to you and all but Rachel told me-"

"I know."

"And I felt-wait you know?" Santana's head popped back up.

Dani nodded. "Rachel told me right after she spoke to you and how you slapped her-"

"Which I apologized for." Santana quickly interrupted. "It was an act of pure impulse."

Dani's lips quirked upward into a small smile. "I also heard the apology you made back when I was in the hospital."

Santana finally understood the meaning of a damn plot twist. "Oh. So you weren't asleep?"

Dani shook her head. "What you said was really sweet, Santana." She stated softly.

"Please don't get mushy on me. I'm not sure how to react to situations like that." Unless one person is unconscious, that makes everything simple. "Seriously, my ex told me he loved me and I said okay."

Dani had a look of disbelief on her face before she started to laugh. Like an actual laugh. Santana had no idea that Dani is even capable of laughing because she has never seen the girl do so. And to Santana's surprise, Dani had a pretty nice laugh. If you asked her to describe it she would say it's between a squeak, a baby, and a witch. She means that in the nicest way possible. And it also turns out that Dani has one of those contagious laughs and soon enough Santana found herself laughing too.

Away from the bleachers, onto the gym floor stood Brittany who's no longer paying attention to the game at hand. Instead her attention is glued to the two females sitting in the bleachers laughing with one another. A deep frown formed onto Brittany's face as she begin to shake her head.

Quinn walked over toward her friend, her eyes also trained on the pair in the bleachers. Quinn tried to place a hand on Brittany's shoulder in a comforting gesture only to be shrugged off. "Britt-"

"No Quinn you're such a liar." Brittany snapped before storming out of the gym.

Quinn sighed in frustration, threading her fingers through her hair. She continued to stare into the bleachers but her focus is now only on one person. Dani's becoming more of a problem and Quinn didn't like that, she had to do something.

"So Dani, what do you think about hanging out with me after school? We could catch a movie or go to the park." Santana suggested with a small smile, lightly nudging Dani in her arm in a playful manner causing the blonde to smile. For once Berry was right, if she wanted to know more about Dani to make up years of torment she had to actually make an effort to do exactly that.

Dani couldn't help but smile. This a whole new side to Santana, sure she's still being sarcastic and she's keeping on that tough outer shell but at least she's being nice. Dani opened her mouth to answer, she had every reason to say yes so why not? That was until her eye caught the sight of a certain blonde standing on the floor of the gym with an icy glare that's directed right on her. Then Dani remembered who Santana is and the people she hangs out with. Dani's paranoid side along with her insecurities squeezed at her brain and heart.

"Um, I don't think that would be such a good idea." Dani cast her eyes downward, suddenly going back to that self conscious girl she always has been.

Santana's brows furrowed. "What?" She snapped almost a bit too harshly making Dani's heart pump faster. "You're rejecting my offer?"

"It's just-I can't." Dani quickly stood up, her book in hand and her one strap book bag over her good shoulder.

Santana said nothing. She only watched as Dani walked away wondering what the hell went wrong. Still confused, Santana shook her head and stood up herself. Right at that moment she managed to catch Quinn who had a satisfied grin on her face. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys! I'm so close to reaching 100 reviews and I'm super excited :D I love all the feedback you guys give me, remember your reviews always count. Happy reading!**

"I can't say I didn't see that coming." Rachel shrugged with a knowing look on her face. The next day Santana stood at Rachel's locker with her arms crossed over her chest and a slight pout on her face. Before Rachel could even ask what did Santana want, the Cheerio begin to quickly explain how Dani flat out rejected the idea of spending time with her. Rachel wasn't sure what Santana was more upset about, the thought that someone didn't want to spend time with her or the thought that Dani didn't want to hang out with her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Santana asked with furrowed brows and a stern look on her face.

Rachel opened her locker after taking a glance at Santana's expression. "Relax, you can put your claws back in. I'm not surprised because I know Dani and I also know you...sorta. While I'm sure your offer was very kind and gentle put, you have to keep in mind that you make Dani uncomfortable whether she shows it or not. And the thought of being alone with a girl that has tormented you for years can be scary and nerve wrecking for someone in fact anyone." Closing her locker, Rachel faced Santana. "Don't you agree?"

For some reason Santana felt offended. "I don't make Dani uncomfortable. In the gym yesterday we were laughing and talking until she freaked out. She seemed fine to me."

"Momentarily yes, you allowing yourself to actually let go and put down your defenses distracted Dani up until the point where she has forgotten that she's speaking to someone like yourself-no offense to you."

Santana groaned, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. She didn't feel like doing this. There are so many other things she could be doing right now, so many other things she rather be doing right now. Hell, anything would beat going back and forth trying to grasp another person's attention from their annoying best friend. "You know what, screw this. I don't have time for this-I have a life and friends and a bunch of other important things to do than this."

Rachel didn't seem overly fussed. Instead, a tight lipped smile formed on her face as her head bowed down. "Santana have you ever broken something that belonged to one of your parents?" Rachel asked out of the blue causing a confused look to spread across Santana's once agitated features.

Even though the question seemed irrelevant to the situation at hand, it still brought a memory back to Santana. When she was 9 she broke her mother's favorite vase after bumping into it while running inside the house even though her mother specifically told her not to. She spent about an hour crying. "My mom's vase. Why are you asking me this?"

Rachel ignored Santana's question and continued. "What did you do afterward?"

"I spent the whole day fixing it." And she wasn't over exaggerating either. Every single scattered piece that she could find she used crazy glue to put it back together. When her Mom came home, she was upset but appreciated the effort Santana made to fix it.

"Why?"

"Rachel what the hell does this-"

"Just answer the question, Santana."

Santana rolled her eyes but decided to answer the question anyway. "My mom loved that ugly thing and I would've gotten in a huge amount of trouble if I-"

"Besides that." Rachel quickly cut her off. That wasn't the answer the brunette's searching for, it's something much more simple than that but she wanted to see if Santana could catch on. "Why else did you try to fix it?"

Santana's eyes looked sideways down at the ground, her lips pressed together as she begin to think. "Because I broke it, it was my fault."

Rachel grinned. "Exactly. Now, think of Dani as a vase. Didn't you break her?"

Santana finally caught on to what Rachel is trying to prove. It made her want to roll her eyes again that the shorter girl had to play word games to make such a simple point. "Technically...yes."

"So isn't it fair that you piece her back together?" Rachel asked with an arched brow.

Before Santana could answer the bell rung and the halls started to clear out.

Rachel adjusted her one strap book bag on her shoulder and gave Santana a small smile. "Think about it."

Santana walked into the noisy cafeteria room filled with rambunctious young teenagers. It sucked having a guilty conscience, it's like an annoying parent constantly lecturing you about everything you do or say. In this case, she had Rachel Berry's annoyingly loud voice in the back of her mind constantly reminding her that she's the reason for Dani's sadness. The reason those big brown eyes of hers were completely hollow and no longer full of life like they were that day she helped her on the playground when they were young.

"Santana we need to talk." The sound of Quinn's silky voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Standing right next to the blonde is Brittany who had her eyes glued to Santana's face.

"About?" Santana questioned nonchalantly as she took a seat at one of the long tables.

"What's going on with you and Dani?" Quinn asked, taking a seat next to her while Brittany decided to remain standing.

"What I'm doing is none of your damn business, Lucy. And do me a favor and stop sending death glares to the girl, you're making my job much more difficult than it has to be."

Quinn's jaw clenched. "Listen you need to stop talking to that loser. Once you associate with losers like her and Berry that makes you one and frankly you're making me and Brittany look bad."

Santana whole face twisted at the comment not only in annoyance but in anger. "One, neither Dani or Berry are my friends. Two, I could care less about your image and I _especially_ could care less about Brittany's. You have such an issue with something I'm doing when in reality it's none of your fucking business. I'm stuck cleaning up the mess that your friend made. So do me a favor and get the hell off my back." Santana abruptly stood up, pushing past Brittany and stormed out of the cafeteria door.

A lot of things in this world annoy her like crying babies, her mom lecturing her, when you have an itch you can't scratch but never in her life would've she have guessed that the sound of Quinn's voice and Brittany's presence would be one of those things. Santana could feel her skin becoming heated, her heart rate could be heard audibly in her ears. She needed to calm herself down before she burst a blood vessel.

The hallway suddenly felt too hot so Santana decided to go through the huge doors of the auditorium where there's air conditioning. Once she entered, the sound of a soft piano melody filled her ears followed by someone softly singing. The piano did sound a bit off, like someone's lazily pressing down on the keys with one hand on one side of the keys.

_**And all the things I need**_

_**Feel just like a dream**_

_**And every breath I breathe**_

_**It's so hard**_

The large red curtain that connects to the top of the stage blocked the person at the piano causing Santana's brows to furrow slightly because whoever is singing has an amazing voice. The person has something that Santana hasn't heard in a while and that's true talent. Walking closer so she could get a better look, both of her eyebrows lifted upward in surprise when she saw the owner of the amazing voice. There sat Dani looking all small and fragile behind the large piano. She knew that Dani could sing because the girl is in that stupid Glee club but she had no idea that Dani would be _that_ good.

_**I just want a reason to hope**_

_**A reason to know**_

_**That I should still be here**_

_**Maybe just a glimpse of the light**_

_**A patch of blue sky**_

_**Something to believe in**_

Santana bit her lip, the feeling of guilt once again washing over her as she took in the lyrics Dani's singing so sadly. The singing and the piano playing abruptly stopped and Santana panicked slightly because she thought she had been caught lurking like a creeper. But she got proven wrong when she heard Dani huff in frustration, the girl stared down at the black and white keys.

_**I just want a reason to hope**_

_**A reason to hope**_

_**A reason that I should not let go**_

_**I want a reason to hope**_

Dani finished softly with her head bowed down. The auditorium fell in a thick silence for a moment.

"Hi Santana." Dani's soft sweet voice filled the silent room. Santana wasn't too shocked that her cover had been blown because it's not like she wasn't exactly staying out of sight like she had been before.

"You have a wonderful voice." Santana found herself saying. She walked over to the side of the stage where the stairs are, walking up the few wooden steps and toward Dani.

"Thank you." Dani still had her eyes glued to the keys of the piano. "I thought I could still play it even though I only have one good arm but I guess not." She said with a small pout.

Santana smiled a bit, she took a seat next to Dani but she put some distance between them with the knowledge that there is a possibility she makes Dani uncomfortable. The bruises that covered Dani's face were now fading slightly.

"When do you get that thing off?"

"One more week. They say I'm healing quickly." Dani replied. The two were quiet for a couple of minutes. "Sorry if I offended you yesterday."

Santana felt confused for a second because honestly she had no idea why Dani felt the need to apologize to her. Then she remembered how she snapped at the girl the other day. "Oh you don't have to apologize, I sorta have an anger problem."

Dani couldn't disagree with that. "You sure I didn't? Just wanna make sure."

Santana laughed lightly. "Yes I'm sure, Dani." This is weird. Because speaking to Dani and hearing the girl sing actually calmed her down. Calming Santana down takes skill and loads of patience but somehow Dani managed to do it without trying.

"I wanted to take you up on your offer it's just that..." Dani trailed off.

"You don't trust me. I get it. If I were in your place for the last couple of years I wouldn't have trust in me either." Santana admitted.

"It's not only that. You're a somebody in this school and I'm a nobody. You talking to me would ruin what you have in this school."

Santana's mouth went slightly agape because after everything she's put this girl through, Dani cares about Santana losing her social status and ending up in her position. Wouldn't someone want that for a person who broke them down? Just to have the pleasure in the irony of it all?

"You rather me bully you so that I won't loose my social status in this school?" Santana asked in disbelief because this is still pretty unbelievable that someone could be this selfless.

Dani shrugged lazily, she looked over to the girl sitting next to her. "You get used to somethings after a while. I don't want you to go through what I am, again."

"Why don't you hate me? You should despise the hell out of me."

"Because I've spent so many nights telling myself that I deserved the treatment you gave me, I guess I convinced myself at one point. And I held onto the hope that you're still the same girl who picked me up off the playground floor and dusted me off when we were kids." A small smile formed on Dani's face, she looked downward before looking back up with a more serious look on her face. "Are you?"

A wave of sudden emotion literally crashed down on Santana and before she knew what she was doing, she pulled Dani into a tight hug. The blonde girl tensed for a bit but soon relaxed when she realized it's just a hug and not a choke hold. Dani sighed, letting her cheek rest on Santana's shoulder. The last time she hugged Santana had to be when they were around 5 years old, the thought made Dani nostalgic. She forgot how warm Santana is.

Santana chuckled when a thought appeared in her mind. "For years I thought you were some terrible person who pretended to be innocent. You are the complete opposite of what I expected."

Dani smiled. "I'm glad I proved you wrong."

"Tell anybody about this I'll deny it. Can't have people knowing that I have a heart. Deal?" Santana pulled away to look at Dani with an arched eyebrow.

The girl laughed, the one that manages to bring a smile to Santana's face even though she doesn't want it to, revealing her straight white teeth. "Deal."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey! Sorry for the long wait, had another case of writer's block and all. School is kicking my butt D: but yeah I managed to finally finish this chapter. And I also would like you guys to know that I have another Dantana story in progress :) So keep your eye out for that one and enjoy!**

All seemed to be going well, that is for Santana. Her guilty conscience seemed to be simmering down a notch and she's more than grateful for that because it was interfering with her sleep at night. But as the days went by and next week rolled along she couldn't help but feel like something is going to happen, not in a good way either.

Maybe she jinxed herself or maybe God is trying to send her a sign, whatever the case may be it pissed her off beyond belief when on Monday morning she had been greeted with an ice cold cherry slushy to the face. The impact of the freezing ice causing her head to jerk backward, leaving her mouth agape and her dark eyes blinking rapidly as the cherry liquid flowed downward blurring her vision.

"Don't talk to losers and you won't be treated like one." A male voice, that she soon recognized as Karofsky's, spat.

If it weren't for the intense burning in her eyes and the gross stickiness of sugar filled fluid painting her skin and clothes, she would beat the shit of of Karofsky because now Sue is going to be on her ass for ruining her Cheerio's uniform. So instead, she had to settle for calmly wiping the the slushy off of her eyelids. Gaining her full vision back, Santana saw many faces staring at her like she's some damn freak show at a circus.

"What the hell are you staring at?" Santana snapped loudly. Everyone's heads snapped in the opposite direction almost in sync and Santana would be proud of herself at the moment if she wasn't so pissed off.

Yanking the rubber band out of her hair allowing her long dark hair to flow freely in waves, the Cheerio made her way to the girl's bathroom. She grumbled angrily to herself in Spanish as she pushed open the bathroom door with one hand while digging in her purse with the other, searching for her makeup. All that hard work she did to do her makeup and hair only to have someone ruin it, that's rude.

"They got you too, huh?"

Santana's head snapped up. Being so caught up in the shock that she actually got slushied for the first time in her life, she hadn't noticed that anyone else is in the bathroom. It was Dani who spoke, the girl is standing in front of mirror with damp looking hair that matched the dampness of her dark blue hoodie that seemed a size to big. Her hands were twisting her hair, wringing out whatever left over water there was.

"Karofsky." Santana replied, walking over toward the sink next to Dani's and setting her purse on the edge. "I'll beat the shit out of him later, right now I have to deal with," Santana looked at herself in the mirror. Dried red slushy painted the tan skin on her face, the dark makeup that coated her eyelids are now smudged due to her attempts at rubbing the slushy out of her eyes and her hair falling into it's natural curly form. "_This._" She finished, crinkling her nose in a way that made Dani smile when she noticed.

"Hot water works best." Dani spoke, untangling her short fingers from her hair.

"Thanks for the tip." Santana murmured with her eyebrows drawn together going downward as she rummaged through her bag.

Dani could see how upset the Cheerio is and that's when a sudden rush of guilt washed over her. "Sorry that this happened to you." Because really she felt like this was her fault at least in some way, shape or form.

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't throw that slushy in my face, right? That reminds me, I'm sorry for throwing those slushies at you because that shit burns and it gets everywhere." Santana grimaced. Gripping the ends on both sides of her shirt, she lifted the red WMHS top up and over her head before throwing it carelessly on the floor revealing a dried red slushy stain right below her collar bone.

Santana shook her head. "See?" She turned her body toward Dani and motioned downward. "Everywhere. It's disgusting."

Dani's eyes widened slightly, her mouth suddenly going dry as she took in Santana's toned caramel body that looked incredibly smooth if you were to touch it. To make it more simple, Santana has an incredible body. She had abs and muscles but somehow still managed to look soft at the same time. Not that Dani had a crush on Santana or anything, she's just simply appreciating the fact that Santana is attractive and apparently so is another feminine part on her body._ Damn hormones._ Dani's mouth twisted to the side, blinking rapidly she averted her eyes before Santana could notice that she had been staring.

"Uh yeah." Dani cleared her suddenly dry throat. "Hot water...works." Dani repeated stupidly, lowering her hear and tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"You said that already." Santana reminded her. Yanking out 4 or 5 paper towels out of the tissue dispenser, Santana ran it under hot water before using it to wipe at any sign of dried red on her body. While doing so, Santana spotted Dani from the corner of her eye tilting her head and bending sideways slightly as she studied Santana's backside.

"You checking out my ass, short stack?" Santana wasn't pissed or offended, only highly amused as she smirked to herself when Dani immediately straightened up. The blonde's face turned such a bright red color that she resembled a cherry and it took all of Santana's willpower not to crack up right there because really she's never seen someone turn so red in such a short amount of time.

In attempt to hide her now flushed face, Dani stared down at the ground and used the sleeves of her hoodie that draped over her hands to cover both sides of her face in hopes that it will also help her cool down. "I wasn't I swear-"

"No need to lie, Danielle." Santana teased.

"I'm not, really. I wouldn't." Dani insisted, moving her hands down a couple of inches to reveal her brown eyes as she looked up at Santana who's now standing facing in her direction with an arched eyebrow. Dani thought she offended the girl causing her to panic. "Not that you aren't attractive or anything because really you are-it's just that-I was-" Dani groaned at how flustered she's becoming, burying her face deeper in her hands.

Now Santana knew it was wrong and she should've told Dani to chill the hell out but this is just too entertaining to stop so she continued to watch the short girl freak out over nothing.

Dani took a few deep breaths before she mumbled out another reply. "I like your tattoo."

Confused for a moment, Santana's brows knitted together. "My tat-oh!" The tattoo of a large cross covered the middle of her lower back, sometimes she would forget it was there. "You know what a tattoo is?" Santana questioned as she turned back to the mirror, digging inside of her bag to pull out a white tank top and place it on her body. For once she wasn't trying to be harsh or offensive, the question was out of pure genuine curiosity.

Dani stared at Santana with a blank expression, not knowing whether the girl is serious or not and if she should take that question to offense. Santana looked over at Dani and shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"It's an actual question, Dani. I mean I just sorta figured that like you were-" Santana's eyes traveled down Dani's attire and back up to her face.

"Sheltered for my whole entire life, taught the ways of the bible, with the mental capacity of a 5 year old?" Dani finished for her.

Santana stayed silent for a few minutes before deciding to finally speak again. "You see, when you put it that way..." She trailed off and Dani's lips curved into a small smile.

"I prefer to dress in what makes me comfortable, Santana. And I'm really not what you think I am." Dani laughed lightly as she stated the last sentence. Pulling down the sleeve of her hoodie to reveal her right forearm, both of Santana's eyebrows raised in surprise at what she saw.

On Dani's forearm lied the word faith in black ink that sat above the twelve flock of birds that went all the way up to Dani's hand which had a cross on the side below her pinkie finger that Santana has never noticed.

"Holy shit that is badass." Santana said in pure amazement as she moved closer to study Dani's tattoos. "Your parents know?" Santana asked while gently taking Dani's arm in her hands and letting her fingers run over the birds. This time Dani didn't flinch.

The blonde snorted lightly. "If they did I wouldn't be standing here right now. What about yours?"

Santana's formed a straight line. "They never had a chance to find out because they're never home." She replied in a dry tone, letting go of Dani's arm and walking back over to the mirror.

Dani frowned slightly because she felt like she struck a nerve and made Santana sad. "Sor-"

"Don't apologize." Santana quickly cut her off. "You do that too much."

Dani only shrugged helplessly, looking over to the side of her at nothing in particular. She can't help but feel like everything is her fault.

Silence.

"Wanna skip school with me?"

Well, that was unexpected.

"Huh?" Was the only word Dani could process.

"I can't stay in school when I look like this, it's embarrassing. So do you want to blow off school with me?" Santana repeated once again, gathering her things.

"You want me to skip school with you?" Dani asked cautiously because she had to make sure she's hearing properly.

"That is what I asked."

Dani bit her lip. "We won't get caught right?"

"If you're being paranoid we just might. So calm down and lets go." Santana circled her hand around Dani's wrist and led the hesitant girl out of the bathroom.

"What happens if we get caught?"

"We go to jail."

"Santana."

"They'll burn us at the stake."

"Seriously."

"They'll remove our limbs."

Dani sighed loudly and allowed Santana to pull her down the hall.

***  
They ended up at Santana's house and just as Dani expected, the place was huge standing at 3 stories high. And just as Santana mentioned earlier her parents weren't home leaving the large house in a empty silence.

Santana's room was the first door when you went up the stairs and she told Dani how much she hates it because if a murderer were to enter their home she'd be the first to die. Santana's room is exactly like her personality, well at least that's what Dani thinks. Dark, interesting, and bold. But the red roses drawn in with the dark walls gave it beauty.

"I'm going to the bathroom. Just stay put for a few seconds and don't go through my things. If you do I'll chop your fingers off." Santana threatened and Dani let out a nervous laugh because the girl didn't seem like she was joking.

Everything still felt weird. Never in a million years would Dani have ever thought that Santana would allow her in her home let alone the privacy of her own bedroom. Dani's eyes begin to wonder, those big pools of brown landed on the large vanity that sat across from Santana's bed against the wall. Dani walked closer to it, this isn't snooping it just looking alright?

There were various pictures on the side of the large mirror. Half of them of Santana when she was younger. There's one where Santana is smiling really big revealing her two missing teeth as she sits on the top of a slide, the sight brought a smile to Dani's face. But what really caught her eye is something underneath the picture, something that wasn't a picture but instead a note.

Using her thumb and index finger, Dani pinched the edge of the note and took the pink paper into her hands. Is this really what she thinks it is? On the outside, in crayon it read 'To Santana' with hints of white and gold glitter along with hearts surrounding each empty space. Dani bit her lip as she read the middle.

_**With all that paint on you, I thought you were the prettiest piece of art I ever saw. You even looked more beautiful than a rainbow in the sky.**_

She laughed because god she was such a cheesy little kid with terrible handwriting. After all these years Santana kept this but why? Hearing footsteps coming from behind her, Dani whirled around with the paper still in her hand. Santana was threading her fingers through her hair which is no longer curly but straight and wavy.

"You still have this?" Dani asked.

Santana brows furrowed as she squinted her eyes at the paper but then a deep scowl formed on her face. "Yeah. Remind me to burn that thing."

"Burn it? Why?"

Santana felt confused at Dani's panic stricken tone. "Brittany gave it to me. How do you know about it anyway?"

"Brittany?" Of course. Of course Brittany would lie and take credit for something she didn't do. And of course it had to be something from Dani. She shook her head. "No, no Brittany lied."

Santana's brow arched. "And how do you know?" Not that she doubted that Dani isn't telling the truth because it isn't hard to believe that Brittany lied about this.

"Because I wrote it." For some reason, Dani felt embarrassed and she couldn't look Santana in the eye at the moment.

For the second time today, there was silence.

"I knew that handwriting wasn't Brittany's." Dani heard Santana mumble. Then Santana begin to walk toward her with an unreadable expression that made Dani nervous. When they were inches apart, Santana slowly reached down to where the note Dani held in her hand was. Her soft fingers brushing against the blonde's palm as she took the note in her own hand and held it up in both of their eye view.

"This little note," Santana paused, her head titling sideways as she smiled shortly at Dani. "Helped me through so much you have no idea. Because when I thought nobody out there cared and that the world was just this...cruel and hateful place, this note-this simple act of kindness proved me wrong and it helped ease the pain I was feeling." A tear slipped out of Santana's eye that Dani reached out, hesitantly, to wipe away with her thumb.

"I'm really happy that I could help you because that was exactly what I wanted." Dani replied.

Santana blinked rapidly, wiping at the tears that were attempting to fall out of her eyes. "Ew. I hate crying. Don't-"

"Tell anyone you have tear ducts. Your secret is safe with me." Dani grinned.

"You know what Dani? You're not so bad after all. Not one bit." 


End file.
